Overcoming resistance in yoga and life

I have an embarrassing habit I need to confess. I often buy things I don’t use. It’s terribly wasteful, I know, but sometimes I can’t help myself.

I’ve bought equipment I’ve never used

Books I’ve never read

I’ve paid for training courses I haven’t finished

It’s a terrible waste.

And the one thing all these items have in common? They’re things that I thought would lead to an improvement. Things I thought that would result in a change.

I had the best intentions at the time, but these things just gathered dust or took up space on my credit card statement.

Sound familiar?

I’m also the type of person to get really excited about new projects and ideas but often don’t follow through. I have tonnes of energy to start new projects, but lack the discipline to stay the course.

And you know what I’ve come to realise? It’s the same thing stopping me each time.

It’s the same reason I don’t use things I buy, finish things I start, or follow through on ideas.

It’s Resistance.

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance” – Steven Pressfield.

Resistance is the invisible force that stops us from doing the things we want to do.

Like quitting a health regimen after 2 weeks because it’s too hard

Like sitting on the couch watching TV instead of learning salsa dancing because we can’t be bothered

It’s staying home instead of meeting new people even though we’re lonely

It’s the voice that talks us out of doing the things we ACTUALLY want to do

It’s the little deals and bargaining we do with ourselves to justify our self-sabotage.

The most common forms of resistance are: procrastination – “I’ll start tomorrow”, and distraction – “I’ll just check my emails”.

Resistance is found in the gap between where we are now and where we want to be. And the reason we give in to resistance instead of pursuing our higher goals? It feels good in the moment.

Sleeping in feels better than getting up early to go to yoga

Online shopping feels better than sitting quietly to meditate

2 or 3 glasses of wine can feel better than 2 or 3 minutes of deep breathing everyday.

Here’s how it works for me. I’ll discover some cool new thing that promises to make my life better in some way. I get really excited and make a commitment – time, money or both.

I throw myself into this new thing and when I don’t get the instant results I give up and go back to my old ways.

Instant gratification is the accomplice of resistance.

Apparently, one of the single most important factors that predicts our success in life is the ability to delay gratification*. There was a classic experiment done in the 1960s called the Stanford Marshmallow experiment.

4 year old children were left alone in a room for several minutes. They were told that if they didn’t eat the marshmallow on the table, they would be rewarded with 2 marshmallows.

They faced a simple choice, one marshmallow now or two later.

Most kids went for instant gratification and ate the first marshmallow.

What’s fascinating is that researchers followed up with those children 40 years later to measure their success in a number of life areas. The researcher’s found that the children who were willing to delay gratification and waited to receive the second marshmallow ended up having higher academic scores, lower levels of substance abuse, lower likelihood of obesity, better responses to stress, better social skills as reported by their parents, and generally better scores in a range of other life measures.

This raises a key point, it’s our ability to overcome temptation and delay instant gratification that leads to the successful achievement of our goals.

How often do we give up because we don’t get instant results?

Our resistance, the gap between where we are now and where we want to be, is fuelled by instant gratification.

So if we can delay gratification, we can bridge the gap faster. Doing the work now to receive the rewards later. Investing now so we can reap the dividends later.

And this is the trap most of us have fallen into at some time.

Especially in our yoga practice.

Instant rewards don’t last and lasting rewards aren’t instant.

It can take months to reap the rewards of a regular yoga practice. And in those initial few months, we’re likely to encounter the voice of resistance, telling us it’s not worth the time, it’s not worth the effort, it’s not working. By the way, Bamboo takes years to establish its roots beneath the surface before its “instant”, exponential growth spurts.

Seasoned practitioners can fall into a similar trap. Getting stuck in a yoga rut and feeling like we’re not making progress seems like a good reason to quit. But life works in cycles of expansion and contraction. Nature, economics, relationships. Trees don’t fruit all year around. A bull market is followed by a bear market. The honeymoon phase doesn’t last. An exhale follows and inhale.

It’s natural to experience phases of contraction in yoga. Periods where we may even feel like we’re going backwards. Just as deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter, our yoga practice necessarily requires us to integrate all the previous growth before we’re ready to grow again. And this is the time where resistance and instant gratification can derail us.

So have you fallen for the first marshmallow? Do you need something to kick-start your efforts?

This course will take your yoga practice to the next level, not just physically but mentally too.

The best way to overcome our habits is through self-awareness. And this course will make you see yourself in a whole new light. You will fine tune the poses and also your field of awareness.

It will require discipline and delay of instant gratification to cross the bridge and move towards the life that call us.

Learn new meditation techniques and get some discipline in your practice

Tune up your technique so that you get the full benefit from the poses

Understand how yoga philosophy applies to modern living and that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel in our personal growth and development.

Meet other dedicated yogis and join a supportive community to further your goals.

Access to exclusive audio and video content to practice at home.

Maintain your momentum with a complimentary month of unlimited yoga.

There is no other yoga course like this in Brisbane, it’s is only offered twice a year and fills up fast. Participation is limited to 16 people and you will be led by Heather and Cat.

THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR YOU IF YOU

Want instant results
Don’t want to embrace yoga as a lifestyle
Want to skip the spiritual stuff and just do advanced poses
Don’t want to examine your life and get a new perspective
Want to avoid your thoughts and feelings.

Our Reviews

Wonderful value for money, their 5 classes for $30 is amazing! Was just walking past and saw their sign saying, "Yoga, its a sign". Went upstairs, signed up and paid then and there. Free equipment hire, lovely atmosphere. Great range of classes - yin for relaxation and yang for energy and flow. Check it out as its been fantastic so far!

Hit my mid 60's with a thud. Work, personal, waist line, bad back, metal knee - you know, the sort of stuff you accrue too easily.
One day, I found I could not get down on the floor, without falling the last 50cm.
That was it! Time to change the settings.
That's when I found Cultivate Calm.
Did a bit of yoga 20 years ago but this was much, much better.
Great timetable means lots of choices of classes to attend, plus a range of yoga styles.
Started just looking for some flexibility and Yin and Basics have helped with that; but in the process have found my thinking is now clearer.
Also, I was keeping my chiropractor in business, with constant back spasms but now, he's had to downgrade his lifestyle, as I have not seen him for 10 months, thanks to the twists and back work in the classes.
The teachers are exceptional. All have a nice, relaxed demeanour but take the time to explain the poses and the goals of each position. Not only that, but they provide several levels of intensity.
The support provided by them, and by the other yogis is really refreshing.
And blokes, don't think yoga is a 'girly' thing. Many blokes attend most of the classes I have been to.
Guess you could say I went for the exercise, but discovered a lifestyle.